Work Environment

Master of Science in Work Environment - Professional Science Master's (PSM) Options

Professional Science Master’s Options in Work Environment

The Work Environment Profession Science Master's Options are 36 credits, interdisciplinary, and problem-focused. Graduates learn to recognize, evaluate and control occupational and environmental health and safety issues. Technical preparation in such fields as statistics, toxicology, aerosol physics, analytical chemistry, and biomechanics is taught with direct applications to the identification, control and elimination of health and environmental hazards. Students also learn the dynamics of the workplace  the sociology, political science and economics of systems of production.

The Work Environment PSM options follow the same courses as the current master’s degree programs with the addition of a one credit internship for students who do not have substantial professional work experience in their field.

Admission Requirements

The admission requirements are the same as in the current master’s degree program:

Baccalaureate degree from an accredited university or college with a recommended GPA of 3.0 or better.

Graduate Record Examination Aptitude Test (GRE). For students who graduated from a university in a country where English is not the official language, TOEFL scores should be at least 550 (paper-based), 213 (computer-based), or 79 (internet-based).

Documentation of good writing ability.

Prerequisite technical courses (with a grade of C or better) must include:

For the Occupational and Environmental Hygiene Program, one semester courses in mathematics (calculus or statistics preferred), general chemistry, organic chemistry, biology and physics.

For the Ergonomics & Safety program, one semester courses in mathematics (calculus preferred), biology and physics.

For the Epidemiology and Cleaner Production & Pollution Prevention programs, one semester courses in mathematics (statistics preferred) and human biology.

faculty committee will evaluate each applicant’s application materials including GPA, GRE, TOEFL, experience, recommendations and essay. Meeting minimum requirements does not guarantee acceptance. In some cases, applicants who do not meet all entry requirements may be admitted if they have completed 9 credits of Work Environment courses, all with a B+ or better as a non-matriculated student.

(Other Graduate level courses outside of the Department of Work Environment may be chosen as STEM electives with advisory committee approval.)

PLUS courses (9 credits total)

PLUS Required Course for all PSM Options (3 credits):

19.500 Analytical Context of the Work Environment

PLUS BUSINESS SPECIALIZATION Courses (6 credits total):

Occupational & Environmental Hygiene

19.651Work Environment Policy and Practice (3 credits)

1 PLUS elective (3 credits)

Ergonomics and Safety

19.542 Human Factors (3 credits)

1 PLUS elective (3 credits)

Cleaner Production/Pollution Prevention

19.550 Environmental Law & Policy (3 credits)

19.651Work Environment Policy and Practice (3 credits)

Epidemiology

2 PLUS electives (6 credits)

Approved PLUS Elective Courses:

Business of Work Environment:

19.542 Human Factors (3 credits)

19.550 Environmental Law & Policy (3 credits)

19.640 Macroergonomics (3 credits)

19.641 Principles of Accident Causation and Prevention (3 credits)

19.643 Healthy Work Organization Design (3 credits)

19.651Work Environment Policy and Practice (3 credits)

19.654 Work, Technology and Training (3 credits)

Business Fundamentals:

62.501 Marketing Fundamentals (3 credits)

66.501 Organizational Behavior (3 credits)

64.650 Innovation and Emerging Technology (3 credits)

66.630 New Product Development (3 credits)

62.630 Market Research for Entrepreneurs (3 credits)

66.635 Project Management (3 credits)

61.640 Financing Innovation and Technical Ventures (3 credits)

(Additional PLUS course choices will be available from a list of approved courses provided by the PSM Coordinating Committee to include additional qualified courses from the College of Management and other relevant departments).

Internship (1 credit)

A Professional Internship is required for students in this program and is expected to be a minimum of 350 hours and have 3-6 month duration. The internship is designed to provide students with an opportunity to obtain real-world experience in business, government agencies, non-profit organizations or research laboratories. Internships or research project experiences will typically take place in industries and government agencies. Research experience can also be obtained at the University or other Research Centers.

To be eligible for the Professional Internship, students will be required to have 1) completed a minimum of 12 credits of STEM courses, 2) completed a minimum of 6 credits of PLUS courses, 3) attained an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher and 4) permission of the Graduate Coordinator. The internship will typically be undertaken in the summer between the first and second years, with continuation into the final year in some cases.

Students that have previous or current professional employment experience may request to waive the internship requirement, however, in these cases, a new project experience will be required that adds to the student’s current set of skills.

Capstone Experience - Required for all PSM Options (2 credits)

19.600 (0 credits) and 19.602 (2 credits) are the courses for the Work Environment Capstone. The capstone courses are taken in the second (final) year of the program with 19.600 taken in the Fall and 19.602 in the spring semester.

All students will be required to submit a final written report and give oral presentation on their internship work during the capstone course in their final semester. All post-internship students will participate in this capstone class, as will all professionally employed students who have had the internship waived.